Stefanovic the joke over gag to Dalai Lama

Los Angeles

Australian TV host Karl Stefanovic may have bombed telling a joke to the Dalai Lama, but he has scored plenty of laughs around the world.

The only problem is TV shows, newspapers, news websites and blogs around the globe have been laughing at Stefanovic, not his lame joke.

Good Morning America (GMA), a high-rating morning TV program beamed into millions of households around the US, played the footage on Wednesday and then its five hosts, sitting on a couch, debated Stefanovic's judgment.

"Why would you even attempt that?" a perplexed GMA host Robin Roberts asked.

"Why would you even try?"

Roberts' co-host, George Stephanopoulous, described it as "the perils of live TV" and wondered why Stefanovic, after losing the Dalai Lama in the first telling of the joke, tried a second time.

Another GMA host, Josh Elliott, known for his sense of humour, went to Stefanovic's defence and declared: "You had to go for it."

The clip from Stefanovic's now infamous Today interview on the Nine Network was also aired on CNN, Fox TV and featured on the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post and Newsday websites.

The New York Times headlined its story: "How Not To Tell the Dalai Lama a Joke".

Newsday asked its readers "Have you ever wondered what you would say to the Dalai Lama if you ever got the chance to meet him? One Australian newscaster clearly has not".

Newspapers and blogs across the Atlantic also had fun at Stefanovic's expense, with the UK's Sun newspaper asking: "So is Stefanovic embarrassed by the gaffe? You'd Buddha believe it".

Stefanovic's joke was: "The Dalai Lama walks into a pizza shop ... and says 'Can you make me one with everything?'."

The spiritual leader was confused, looked for help from an interpreter, but eventually laughed when Stefanovic, with his hand covering his face, sheepishly conceded "I knew that wouldn't work".